Ryan's Way or the Highway
by Copper's Mama
Summary: Ben/Lily fic. Ryan gets tired of watching the two of them dance around each other, so she takes matters into her own hands. Please read and review!


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_A Lily/Ben fic. _

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_Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Off the Map. _

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_A/N: This one is more Ryan/Lily-centric, but is a Ben/Lily pairing. _

_Ryan comes to talk to Lily about the Ben situation. _

_I hope you guys like this one, I know I'll love writing it. _

_As always, please read and review, I live for feedback! _

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Ryan made her way over to the younger doctor, finally having decided to do something about the little dance they were doing about one another. Sure, she still had feelings for Ben - probably always would - but she wanted him to be happy.

The tension that was rebounding around these two for the last couple months? It wasn't making anyone happy.

Lily was just finishing her supper, so Ryan invited her to go for a hike. The brunette seemed a little apprehensive, but didn't want to be rude, so she agreed.

The two of them made their way into the jungle, silent at first.

Lily finally broke the silence, turning her head towards Ryan. "So, what's going on?"

Ryan nodded, not bothering to beat around the bush. "This thing with you and Ben ...?"

Lily blinked rapidly, trying to hide her blush. "There's no ... thing. We're just friends ... coworkers."

"Yeah, I'm not blind or stupid, Brenner," Ryan told her. "I see the way you two look at each other. All those lingering looks in the OR? I mean, it's great and all, but it's kind of becoming a problem."

"Oh, god - I didn't realize - I'll stop, right away," Lily told her emphatically. "I never meant to - it wasn't intentional - I didn't even -"

Ryan brought her hands up, stopping them both as she gripped Lily's shoulders. "It's okay, Brenner. Just breathe."

Lily sighed, trying to fight the obvious flush in her cheeks. "God, I've probably made a total fool of myself. Did he ask you to say something to me? I never meant to -"

"Seriously, Lily, relax!" Ryan told her with an exasperated chuckle. "I'm not telling you to stop, I'm telling you to do something about it!"

Lily stopped with her mouth hung open, staring at the redhead in front of her as though she was an alien. "What?"

Ryan sighed. "You two are obviously into each other. This flirting back and forth with your eyes thing? It's getting old. And quite frankly, it's a little nauseating to watch. So just buck up already, and go for it."

Lily's mouth was frozen in place, making an oval shape. A few choked off mumbles made their way out of the open space, but she couldn't form a coherent word.

Ryan rolled her eyes, taking hold of her elbow. She led her back out of the jungle, and towards the main office.

Lily didn't fully realize what was happening until they neared closer to Ben's office.

"What are you, twelve?" she exclaimed worriedly, stopping short before they reached the door.

Ryan rolled her eyes. "I'm the twelve-year old? Guy like girl, girl likes guy ... this isn't high school, where you dance around each other for months and pass notes in the hall. This is the real world, and if you can find someone like him, who actually feels the same way that you do? You jump on it!" Without waiting for Lily to respond, Ryan pulled her the rest of the way to the office, pushing the door open.

Ben looked up from his papers when they entered the room, raising his eyebrows at the sight of them. "Um ... what's going on?"

"You two need to stop acting like you're at your first co-ed dance, that's what's going on," Ryan informed him. "You like her, she likes you. Quit with all the passive-aggressive stares and get groiny already, or I'll tell Zita not to let you two scrub in together. Understood?" She fixed them each with a hard glare before she turned around and left the office, closing the door firmly behind her. Ryan walked across to Zita's empty office, ready to shove Lily back inside if she tried to leave.

Thing was, she didn't leave. Ryan watched the office for almost ten minutes, seeing only the light on through the closed blinds. She was beginning to wonder whether they were having a good chat about how crazy she was, when the light was flicked off in the room.

Ryan grinned, pushing herself up from where she was perched on Zita's desk. She watched for a moment more, but the two didn't exit the now dark room. She felt a momentary pang of loss, but shook it off. Her and Ben were long over, and he deserved a chance with Lily. She would at least get the bragging rights of knowing that she'd brought them together.

Making her way out of the office, Ryan thought that her next task would be sorting out the other two newbies, and their love/hate squabbles.

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_The end. _

_A tad sillier than I usually write, but it was still fun to write. _

_What did you guys think of this? Like it, hate it? _

_Reviews are appreciated, flame if you must, but constructive criticism is much more useful. _

_Until next time ...! _


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